History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c12.s6.57

c12.s6.57

In the first, which took place soon after the accession of Ajātasattu-Kūniya, and with which the Jaina tradition of the elephant is connected, the Magadhan invasion was frustrated, and it would even seem that Magadha itself was in danger of a counter-invasion from the Vajjis. In the second phase of the war it was decided favourably to Ajātasattu through the intrigues of Vassakāra, some two or three years after the death of the Buddha. On the strength of the Jaina story, it may well be that the final capture of Vesālī did not take place until an even later date.